Safety lock for car doors and the like



Oct. 28, 1930. s. PILLA SAFETY LOCK FOR CAR DOORS AND THE LIKE FiledAug. 4, 1928 546 #14 22 ag /[d4 AQW Patented Oct. 1930 um'rso STATESATENT; OFFICE SEBASTIANO PILLA, OF JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY mun LOCK noncan noons AND THE m y Application filed August 4, -19538. Serial No.297,455.

! trolling such doors to prevent the accidental opening thereof when thecar, train or other vehicle is in progress; and the object of theinvention is to provide a door lock and control of the classdescribedinvolving an electric system constituting part of or employed inconjunction with the electrically actuated door opening and closingmeans employed in cars or vehicles of the class specified whereby saidlocking and controlling means may be automatically put into operationafter the doors of the car or vehicle have been closed by the usualmeans; a further object being to provide a door locking and controllingmeans of the class described wherein a plurality of doors on one or morecars in a train of cars or of a single vehicle may be secured againstaccidental opening from a single point of control, through the medium ofa key actuated or other electrical switch; a further object being toprovide a lock device adjacent and cooperating with each door to becontrolled and involving a lock element adapted to be moved intoinoperative position through the action of an electro-magnet in saidcontrol circuit, means being provided for normally retaining the lockelement in operative position; and with these and other objects in View,the invention consists in a control system of the class andfor thepurpose specified and the lock device or devices employed in saidsystem, which is simple in construction, efiicient in use, and which isconstructed as hereinafter described and claimed.

The invention is fully disclosed in the following specification, ofwhich the accompanying drawin forms a part, in which the separate parts0 my improvement are designated by suitable reference characters in eachor the views, and in which:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the method of carrying myinvention into efiect.

Fig. 2 is a sectional, detail view of one of a number of door controlswhich I employ, and three of which are shown in Fig. 1; and,

' Fig. 3 is a partial section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

- In Fig. 1 of the drawing, I have illustrated diagrammatically, one.method of carrying my invention into effect. In said figure, 5represents in dotted lines one car of a train, but this illustration mayserve to represent a single railway car or a bus or other vehicle havingone or more doors controlling admission to the vehicle, three doors 6, 7and 8 being shown in Fig. 1, each of the doors being controlled by oneof my improved locl: devices 9 constituting part of the control system.

In illustrating one use of my invention, I will refer to a conventionaland standard form of door actuating mechanism employed in certainrailway systems now in operation. 10 represents three door actuatingmechanisms, the structure of which forms no part of my invention butwhich are employed to open and close the doors 6, 7 and 8 respectivelythrough the control of an electric circuit represented by the wires 11and 12, which lead to the respective mechanisms 10.

These wires extend to a key switch mechanism 13 wherebythe insertion ofa key into said mechanism and the rotation of the same, will close or atleast partially close a normally open circuit through the switch 13,said circuit being completely closed through a push button or otherswitch mechanism 1&

which controls the opening and closing of the doors through themechanism 10. It will be understood that after the doors are closedthrough the mechanism 14, the key actuating the mechanism 13 is removed,againplacing the circuit through the wires 11 and 12 in mechanism is oldand is referred to herein,

simply to clearly convey the complete operation of my improved door lockcontrol system, which works in conjunction with the system abovedescribed and may be used in connection with other systems or for thepurpose of controlling admission doors of any kind or class, it beingunderstood that my invention is not necessarily limited to a switchmechanism 13 of a key controlled type.

. tive control lock devices 9 or to the electromagnets 17 of suchdevices, whereby the circuit to said electromagnets'17 is closed onlupon the completion of the circuit throug the switch mechanism 13. Itwill be understood that the devices 9or the magnet 17 thereof arecoupled in series with the wires 15 and 16, as are also thecontrolmechanisms 10 in series with the wires 11 and 12, so that each device 9functions separately and independently with respect to the other device.

One of the lock devices 9 is shown in detail in Figs. 2 and 3 of thedrawing, and comprises a suitable casing 18 in which the electromagnetis supported, the wires 15 and 16 extending to insulated terminals orbinding posts 19 and 20 from which wires 17 and 17 ex tend to thewindings of the electromagnet. Pivotally supported within the casing 18is a latch or look lever 21, the pivoted end of which is shown at 22,and this lever is provided with an enlarged plate portion 23 arrangedover the pole 17 of the magnet, so that when the circuit is completedthrough said magnet, the lock lever 21 is drawn downwardly within theboundaries of the casing through an aperture 18' formed therein, thelever 21 being normally projected through the aperture 18" inthe casingby a suitable spring 24. supported in the casing and cooperating withthe free end portion of said lever. The casing 18 has a guide pin 25 andthe lever has a corresponding guide pin 26 for guiding the spring 24,which in the construction shown, is of the coil type. It will be un- 4derstood however, that any suitable tensional means may be emplo ed fornormally projecting the free en portion of the ock lever 21.

Two angle plates 21 are secured to the under face of the top wall of,the casing 18 at each side of the aperture 18 and cooperate with thelock lever 21 to guide the same in its inward movement.

In practice, eachof the doors 6, 7 and 8 is provided on its rear orinner side edge with a projecting arm 27 arranged in the path of thelever 21 and preferably provided with a roller or other anti-frictionalmeans 28, ermitting the 'free passage of the member 2 over the upperbeveled surface 21 of the latch lever 21 in the operation of closing thedoor. It will be understood that each of the devices 9 is arranged atone side of the door as clearly seen in Fig. 3 of the drawing, andsupported in connection with the door frame of the car structure in anydesired manner.

I also preferably provide the outer side face of the casing 18 with anaperture 29 preferably of the key-hole type through which a key or othertool may be passed and brought into engagement with the enlargement 23to forcefully move the lever 21 downwardly against the tension of thespring 24 should it be de sired to open anyone of the doorsindependently of the control through the switch 13 by an authorizedparty.

In carrying my invention into effect, it will be understood that thedoors 6, 7 and 8 are opened and closed in the usual manner and when inclosed position are retained in a definitely locked state by virtue ofthe levers 2l;of all of the devices 9 engaging the arms 27 on therespective doors, or the rollers 28 on said arms. Thus when the car orvehicle is in operation, the doors cannot accidentally be forced orthrown open by the sudden stopping or starting of the vehicle or bystresses or strains a pl1ed thereto unconsciously by persons leaningagainst said doors or otherwise applying pressure thereto.

However, in the operation of opening the doors through the usualmechanism, the completion of the circuit through the switch 13 which isthe first step necessary to put the mechanisms 10 in operation, willcomplete the circuit through the wires 15 and 16 and thus through all ofthe electro-magnets 17, drawing the levers 21 inwardly, permitting thedoors 6, 7 and 8 to move inwardly over said levers. As soon as thecircuit is broken through the switch 13, the levers will be released toagain automatically lock the respective doors, and this may be doneprior to the closing of the doors if desired, it being understood thatthe doors are free to pass inwardly over the beveled surfaces 21 of thelevers, moving the levers 21 inwardly under the compression of thesprings 24 in this operation. 1

In the use of my invention on railway trains, it will be understood thatthe circuits through the wires 11 and.12, and 15 and 16 may extend totwo or more cars of the train and to similar mechanism or devicescontrolling one or more doors on each car of the tram, all controlledfrom a single point in one car where the switch'mechanisms 13 and 14 arelocated.

It will also be understood that as is a common practice with trainshaving a multiplicity of cars, the control systems may be divided intotwo or more groups or sections controlled from two or more points, eachgroup or section controlling a predetermined number of cars of thetrain. It will also be apparent that my invention is not necessarilylimited for use in conjunction with a door operating or opening andclosing mechanism of any specific kind or class, the distinctive featureof the invention residing in a system controlling one, two or more doorsfrom a single point for the purpose of maintaining said doors in lockedposition at all times.

While I have shown certain details of construction for carrying myinvention into effect, it will be understood that I am not necessarilylimited to these details and various changes therein and modificationsthereof may be made within the scope of the appended claims withoutdeparting from the spirit of my invention or sacrificing its advantages.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In a door control of the class described, a door lock devicecomprising a casing, a member movably supported in said casing andadapted to be projected through one wall thereof to engage a door to becontrolled thereby, tensional means for normally supporting said memberin projected position, an electromagnet in said casing and arranged tocooperate directly with said member whereby the completion of thecircuit through said magnet will operate to move said member into tihecasing to permit the free movement of said oor.

2. In a door control of the class described, a door lock devicecomprising a casing, a member movably supported in said casing andadapted to be projected through one wall thereof to engage a door to becontrolled thereby, tensional means for normally supporting said memberin projected position, an electromagnet in said casing and arranged tocooperate directly with said member whereby the completion of thecircuit through said magnet will operate to move said member into thecasing to permit the free movement of said door, and that part of saidmember projecting through the casing being beveled, permitting the freemovement of the door relatively to said member in one direction in theoperation of moving the door from an .open to closed position.

. 3L In a door control of the class described, a door lock devicecomprising a casing, a member movable su ported in said casing andadapted to be projected through one wall thereof to engage a doorto becontrolled thereby, tensional means for normally supporting said memberin projected position, an electromagnet in said casin and arranged tocooperate directly with sai member whereby the completion of the circuitthrough said magnet will operate to move said member into the casing topermit the free movement of said door, that part of said memberprojecting through the casing bein beveled permitting the free movementof t e door relatively to said member in one direction in the operationof moving the door from an open to closed position, and means whereby akey may be inserted into the casing to engage said member to move itinto said casing.

' 4. door lock device of the class described adapted to be arranged inthe path of movement of said door and to cooperate with the inner sideportion thereof, said device comprising a p vot member, tensional meanscooperating with said member to normally support the same in the path 01movement of the door to check the opening thereof, means involving anelectromagnet arranged to directly cooperate with said member wherebythe completion of the circuit through said magnet will cause said memberto move into moperative position out of the path of movement of saiddoor, and the surface of said member exposed to the door in the slidingmovement thereof being beveled.

5. A door lock device of the classdescribed adapted to be arranged inthe path of movement of said door and to cooperate with the inner sideportion thereof, said device comprising a pivot member, tensional meanscooperating with said member to normally support the same in the path ofmovement of the door to check the opening thereof, means 1nvolving anelectromagnet arranged to directly cooperate with said member wherebythe completion of the circuit through said magnet will cause said memberto move into inoperative position out of the path of movement of saiddoor, the surface of said member exposed to the door in the slidingmovement thereof being beveled, and antifrictional means on the doorcooperating with said member.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed myname this 2nd day of August, 1928.

' SEBASTIANO' PILLA.

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